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Monday, November 25, 2013

Oversold on SugarIs the white stuff running you down and wearing you out?

Dr. Phil Maffetone

Even if you think you’re avoiding it you may not be. Sugar could be
finding its way into the food you are eating. This happens during
travel, in restaurants, buying packaged items, those holiday dinners, or
if you don’t make all your meals from real food. After more than a
hundred years of sugar deception by the industry, three things have come
into focus. A small number of companies have become huge conglomerates,
regularly reaping billions of dollars in profit by selling sugar.
Second, billions of sugar consumers worldwide have become sick and fat,
including young children. And, the problem continues to worsen.

In discussing sugar, I include other processed carbohydrates too because
they convert to sugar very quickly in the body after consumption. This
includes flour and other refined carbohydrates found in breads,
crackers, cereals, bagels, muffins and other items, not to mention
sweets—let’s just call it all "sugar." It’s impossible to say, but
probably 99 percent of the sugar consumed is the refined, unhealthy
version— the stuff that maims and kills. Unfortunately, for most
Paleolithic people today it is a global food staple.

Governments have jumped on board the sugar bandwagon, long ago,
encouraging citizens to eat more of these unhealthy foods. It’s not just
a problem in affluent societies. In the course of only one generation,
many millions of third world people have gone from starvation to obesity
through the consumption of sugar (the World Health Organization calls
it the “nutrition transition”).

Clearly there are many health and fitness problems that result from the consumption of sugar. Here are some of them:
- Illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
- Chronic inflammation, a key part of injuries and other physical
disabilities ranging from arthritis and bursitis to muscle, ligament,
tendon and bone disorders. Even hair loss.
- Fatigue and depression.
- Increased body fat.
- Poor oral health, including cavities, tooth loss and gum problems.
- Lower quality of life—often part of the aging process, but the brains
of young people are adversely affected by the regular consumption of
sugar.

Abnormal sugar regulation can occur in those without diabetes or other
diseases. Even in active people, including competitive and professional
athletes, higher levels of body fat are becoming common. Despite
expending a lot of calories in training, too many of these calories
burned during a workout are in the form of sugar and not fat. This
occurs because eating sugar affects metabolism, forcing the body to use
much more glucose, and too little fat, for energy. The result is less
energy for endurance performance. Because less fat is used for energy,
it’s stored throughout the body in hopes it will be used some day.

Poor performance is often associated with sugar consumption. Whether you
are a runner trying for a better race time, a golfer seeking lower
scores, an executive or student wanting more brainpower, a pilot,
machine operator or commuter who cannot afford to make an error, reduced
performance is associated with sugar consumption. (Probably many more
auto accidents come from this than alcohol.)

The most common symptoms of excess sugar intake include sleepiness and
loss of concentration, especially after meals. That’s because blood
sugar is reduced by insulin, depriving the brain of its constant need
for glucose. Another complaint by those eating too much sugar is
intestinal gas, often due to the inability of the body to effectively
digest many kinds of sugar.

Sugar in Disguise

The myth of “whole grain” continues to lure millions of people into
thinking they’re eating well when, in fact, they are just consuming
sugar. The same untruth is commonly told about sugar being necessary for
energy. The fact is there is no nutritional requirement for sugar,
including carbohydrates.

Agriculture scientists have made genetic changes to sweeten many of our
natural foods, causing them to contain harmful sugar. These include
potatoes, corn, watermelon and pineapple. It is just as if you scooped
up the white stuff with a spoon and ate it for dinner or a snack.

So even if you think you’re not eating much sugar, think again: whether
in a gas station store or Whole Foods, almost all bread, cereal, rolls,
muffins, pasta, noodles, bagels, rice cakes, and foods made with refined
flours are just sugar. Not to mention the junk food products with
higher amounts of sugar such as cakes, cookies, candies, pies, and
similar items sold in these same stores.

Of course, many liquid refreshments can cause even more harm because
they are usually highly concentrated—especially colas and juice drinks.
Likewise for so-called sports products (most are consumed by
non-athletes), which are usually full of sugar. These include Gatorade
and the many related beverages, carbohydrate replacement products,
energy bars and others. For athletes, just consuming these products
during competition won’t magically improve performance—instead, training
the body to be a better fat-burner is the first step, then finding a
healthy source of carbohydrate for competition can help maintain speed
and endurance.

If you read ingredient lists you’ll find sugars listed everywhere; from
ketchup and mayonnaise to cold cuts and fish products. There is even a
separate listing for “sugar” under the “carbohydrate” heading on
nutrition labels. Most, although not all, of these sugars are the added
variety.

And don’t be fooled into thinking that certified organic sugar is any
better for you—it’s not. This is just part of the deception.

Sugar is also hidden in many packaged, frozen, canned and otherwise
processed food, sometimes not listed on the label. The ongoing name game
with labeling is meant to deceive consumers, with food lobbyists
petitioning governmental regulation so the products don’t look so bad.
It was not long ago, for example, that the only ingredient in peanut
butter was listed as peanuts. But a sizable amount of sugar was added
too. That particular loophole has been closed, but we usually only hear
about these types of tricks after the fact, so beware of any packaged or
prepared item. The same is true in most restaurants—fast foods are
especially full of it, but most food services use sugar as a cooking
ingredient.

If sugar, in any of its many forms, is a part of your diet—whether it is
the majority or just smaller amounts—you will only be healthier and
become more fit without it.

Another problem with sugar is that the bad foods containing it are
taking the place of healthy items in our diet. Instead of fluffy,
nutrient-poor unhealthy processed foods, replace them with the real
thing, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, raw almonds and cashews,
the best protein choices (including eggs, meats, and fish), and other
foods as tolerated such as cheese and other fermented dairy, beans, and
lentils.

If it would make the world a better place, why can’t we just stop eating
sugar? This is easier said than done for the millions of people who are
hooked on the white stuff. There is even a so-called war on sugar in
some local governments who want to keep sugar out of schools or reduce
the amount of sugar in single serving items. It is certainly something
to applaud. But like big tobacco, the sugar industry has a more powerful
and secret weapon—addiction.

Many people encounter great difficulty giving up sugar in all its forms.
Foods don’t taste the same without sugar, they say. And because sugar
is such a widely used ingredient, finding out which foods don’t contain
it can sometimes be a nutritional challenge.

Of all the patients I’ve treated for serious illness, all the fitness
problems encountered in a wide variety of athletes, coach potatoes and
everyone in between, the single recommendation that helped more people
the most—probably more than all other therapies combined—has been the
elimination of sugar. In fact, this seemingly simple, single
recommendation can dramatically improve your health, reduce body fat,
and increase performance literally overnight. Eliminate sugar today and
you can be significantly better tomorrow.

Does this mean no more desserts or enjoyable food? Certainly not! While I
avoid all processed food, I do eat a healthy, homemade dessert daily,
sweetened with small amounts of natural honey or fruit. Honey is a lower
glycemic food, tolerated well by healthy people and most of those
transitioning from sugar addiction to a healthier lifestyle. My website
contains a recipe section with many healthy desserts (see below).

It is our choice to be healthy or not, to perform well or poorly, to
reach our human potential or continue to struggle, to be injured and in
pain or live life to the fullest—or, to finally shed the unwanted body
fat.

.

Olga Varlamova, LMT

Graduated Medical School in Moscow, Russia, in 1993, with degree of MD in Pediatrics. Moved to US and worked in BioMedical Research as a Research Scientist for 18 years. Published over a dozen scientific papers. Attended Oregon School of Massage in Portland and finished licensing as an LMT at Texas Healing Arts Institute in 2010. Also, a certified Yoga-Fit yoga instructor and an Endurance Running Coach.